Verizon Reports $31.6 Billion Q3 Revenue, Touts Tablet Gains

Verizon reported earnings of 89 cents per share in Q3 on $31.6 billion in revenue. The carrier also added 1.5 million retail wireless connections and finished the quarter with 6.5 million FiOS connections, an 8.8 percent increase year-over-year (http://vz.to/1Fy0O40). A big part of the wireless growth was tied to tablets, Verizon said, with the company adding 457,000 postpaid phones and 1.1 million postpaid tablets in Q3. “We see continued, healthy customer demand for wireless and broadband services, and we are encouraged by the growth we are starting to see in the areas of video delivery and machine-to-machine,” said CEO Lowell McAdam. Verizon officials declined to answer any questions from analyst about the upcoming AWS-3 or TV incentive auction during the quarterly financial call. Chief Financial Officer Fran Shammo was asked directly about Verizon's plans for the incentive auction. Shammo said the company wouldn’t have anything to say, since it's in the quiet period leading up to next month’s AWS-3 auction.